Power



C. E. MORRIS. POWER MECHANISM FOR MERRV-GO-ROUNDS. APPLICATION FILEDFEB. 21. :91].

1,315,980. Patented Sept. 16,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WITNESS.

AT ORNEY THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON, D. c.

C. E. MORRIS. POWER MECHANISM FOR MERRY-GO-ROUNDS. APPLICATION FILEDFEB. 21. I917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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Patented Sept. 16, 1919.

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POWER FOR lVIERRY-GO-ROUNDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

nateaeasept. 1c, 1919.

Application fi led February 21, 1917. Serial No. 150,244.

To allwhom it may concern Be it known that I, CHAnLns E. MORRIS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Leavenworth, in the county ofLeavenworth and State oi? Kansas, have invented a certain new anduseful. Improvement in Power Mechanisms for Merry-Go-Itounds, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in power mechanisms formerry-goronnds.

The object of my invention is toprovide novel, simple and eiiicientmechanism for controlling and determining the period of activity orotinactivity of a power driven machine.

My invention provides further novel time controlled mechanism by meansof whichthe driving mechanism of a machine and the brake mechanismthereof may be simultaneously operated.

A further object of my invention is to provide novel means by which theactivity or inactivity of a machine may be adjust ably controlled.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a mechanism which isreliable in operation, which is durable and not liable to get out oforder, which may be economically manufactured and which may be readilyapplied to existing machines of various kinds.

My invention is particularly well adapted -for use in connection withmerry-gorounds, carousels, round-abouts and other apparatus, in theoperation of which it is desirable to manually start the machine intooperation, and to have it automatically stop after it has been operatingfor a pre-de termined period of time.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates the preferred embodimentof my invention, as adapted for employment in connection wlth a merry-gorou11d or round about,

Figure I is an elevation of my improved mechanism, the parts being shownin solid lines with the clutch members disconnected and with the brakeset, this being the position of the parts. when the machine which theapparatus controls is inactive. In this figure, the parts arerepresented in dotted lines in the positions occupied by them when themachine isactive. Inthis view, some of the parts are broken away.

Fig. :2 is a cross section on the line 2--2 otFig. 1, some of theipartsbeing omitted.

Fig. 3 is a view, partly in vertical section and partly in elevation ofa portion of a merry-go-rouml provided with my improvement, some of theparts being omitted.

Fig. 4: is an enlarged elevation of the clutch mechanism and the b *akemechanism and parts connected therewith.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, taken at right angles thereto. I

Similar reference characters designate similar parts inthe diiierentviews. I

The brake mechanism illustrated is of a common type having a brake band1 which encircles and is adapted 1 to embrace and apply a brakingpressure to the periphery of a brake wheel 2, which is secured to arotating part of themachine, notshown, to which the mechanism is to beapplied. As these two elements are of well-known construction, portionsof the band 1 and wheel 2 are shown.

The ends oi the brake band 1 are secured in the usual manner to anordinary bell crank lever 3 inthe waywhich is well understood bythosefamiliar with this type of brake.

The clutch mechanism illustrated is of a conventional type comprisingtwo clutch members 4 and 5 having the usual end teeth 6 adapted tointerlock with each other, the clutch member lbeing freely rotative on adriving shaft 7, and the clutch member 5 being slidablymounted on saidshaft and having the usual tongue and groove con,- nection therewith forholding thewclntch member 5 from rotation thereon. The shaft 7, in thisconnection, will be assumed to be the driven member of the machine whichis to be controlled by the timing apparatus,

and the clutch member l is assumed to be the driving member, which maybe rotated by any suitable power means It will be understood, of course,that" this relationship may be reversed, the clutch member 4, in suchcase, being the driven member and the shaft 7 the driving member.

For sliding the clutch member 5 into and out of engagement with theclutch member 4:, the clutch member 5 is providedwith the usualperipheral groove 8, in which is disposed one arm of a bell crank lever9, the

other arm ofwhich is connected to a'horizontal rod 10, which isconnected by a turn buckle 11 with a rod 12 having a longitudinal slot13, in which is slidably mounted a pin 14 secured to and extendinglaterally from a hand lever 15 which, intermediate of its ends, ispivoted to a horizontal post 16, which is secured to a flat-facedvertical support, such as a board 17 The pin 14 is secured to the lever15 above the post 16. Secured to said lever 15 below the post 16 is ahorizontal pin 18 to which is pivoted a rod 19, which is connected by aturn buckle 20, to one end of a horizontal rod 21, the other end ofwhich is pivoted to one of the arms of the bell crank lever 3.

For normally. automatically forcing the hand lever 15 to the inactiveposition shown in solid lines in Fig. 1, and for simultaneously forcingthe brake band 1 to the braking position, and at the same time releasingthe clutch member 5 from the clutch member 4, there is provided a coilpull spring 22, one end of which is secured to the pin 18, and the otherend of which is secured to a pin 23 mounted in the support 17.

As a timing mechanism, I provide a dash pot mechanism consisting of thefollowing described parts.

24 designates a hollow cylinder secured in the vertical position to thesupport 17 and having a closed upper end and an externallyscrew-threaded lower end, the latter having removably secured to it ascrew cap 25.

Reciprocative in the cylinder 24 is a piston head 26 having a by-passopening 27 therethrough, through which vertically extends the stem 28 ofa valve 29, disposed below the cylinder head 26 and adapted, on thedownward movement of the latter, to close the opening 27 The valve 29 isprovided therethrough with a bleed passage 30, the size of whichdetermines the speed of downward movement of the piston head 26. Securedto the lower side of the piston head 26 is a guard yoke 31 which limitsthe downward movement of the valve 29, relatively to the piston 26.

Secured to the piston 26 is a piston rod 32 which extends through and isslidable in the upper end of the cylinder 24.

The cylinder 24 may be filled with some suitable fluid, such as water,oil or air. When the piston rod 32 is lifted, it will draw upwardly thepiston head 26, upon which the valve 29 will open, and the fluid in thecylinder 24, which is above the piston 26 will pass below the samethrough the opening 27. When the piston 26 is forced downwardly, thevalve 29 will close, and the movement downwardly of the piston head willbe controlled by the passage of the fluid through the bleed passage 30,through which the fluid will pass from the under to the upper side ofthe piston head 26.

For lifting the rod 32, the following described mechanism may beemployed.

Secured rigidly to the rod 32 is a peripherall grooved collar 33 whichis engaged by the free end of an arm 34 of a bell crank lever, which ispivoted adjacent to its angle to a post 35 secured to the support 17.

The other arm 36 of said bell crank lever has pivoted to it one end of ahorizontal bar 37, which in its under edge is provided with a notch 38,which is adapted to receive and be operatively engaged by a horizontalpin 39 secured to the lever 15 above the fulcrum thereof.

When the manually operated hand lever 15 is moved by hand from theposition shown in solid lines in Fig. 1, to the right, to the positionshown in dotted lines in said figure, the clutch member 5 will be throwninto engagement with the clutch member 4, and the brake band 1 will bereleased from the wheel 2, by means of the mechanism already described,the spring 22 at the Same time being extended, and the arm 34 and arm 36will be forced to the positions shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the bar37 having been engaged by the pin 39 and forced to the right, as viewedin Fig. 1.

iVhen the lever 15 is swung to the position shown in dotted lines inFig. 1, a. lateral projection 40 on said lever will engage with teeth 41provided in the under edge of a lever 42, which is pivoted to ahorizontal post 43 secured to the support 17. A coil spring 44 issecured at one end to the lever 42, and at its upper end it is securedto a pin 45 mounted in the support 17. The spring 44 is disposed at theside of the post 43 opposite to the side at which are the teeth 41,whereby, the lever 42 will normally be swung downwardly to the positionshown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, in which position it will cause theteeth 41 to engage with the lever projection 41, when the lever is swungto the position shown in dotted lines in F ig, 1.

A vertical coil spring 46 has its upper end secured to the arm 34, itslower end being secured to a pin 47 mounted in the support 17. Thisspring will normally cause the arms 34 and 36 to be swung to theposition shown in solid lines in Fig. 1.

Secured slidably on the rod 32 is a collar 48 having a set screw 49 bywhich the collar may be secured to any position on the rod 32 to whichit may be adjusted.

Secured to the support 17 is a horizontal post 50 which is adapted to bestruck by and to lift the bar 37 to a position in which the latter willbe disengaged from the pin.

39, when the bar 37 is moved to the position shown in dotted lines inFig. 1.

hen the hand lever 15 is manually swung to the position shown in Fig. 1,in dotted lines, the brake mechanism is released lot) l'lll and theclutch mechanism set in the engaged position, as above described, sothat the ma.

chine which is being controlled may operate. -At the same time thecollar 33 will lift the rod 32, through the intermediacy of the arm 34,which is swung upwardly owing to the pin 39 of the lever 15 engaging thebar 37 and movingthe bar to a position on top of the post 50, where thebar is disengaged from the bar 37.

Fluid will now pass upwardly through the bleed passage 30, and thespring 46 will draw downwardly the bar 34, thus retract ing the bar 37so that the notch 38 is to the left of the pin 39.

When the rod 32 has moved downwardly the required distance, the collar48 will strike the right end of the lever 42, as viewed in Fig. 1,thereby releasing the pin 40 and permitting the spring 22 to retract thelever 15 to the inactive position shown in Fig. 1,

' in solid lines. 'Thereupon the brake mechanism will be set in thebraking position, and the clutch mechanism will be set in the inactiveor release position, shown in solid lines in Fig. 1, in the manneralready described.

By vertically adjusting the collar 48 on the rod 32, the downward travelof the piston head 26 and rod 32 may be regulated to the distancedesired, and the time consumed in such downward travel will depend uponthe size of the bleed passage 30, the

density of the fluid in the cylinder 24 and the strength of the spring46. During this interval of time, the machine which is being controlledwill be running. Whenever the hand lever 15 is swung to the positionshown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the brake mechanism will be released,the clutch mechanism will be operatively disposed, the piston head 26and rod 32 will be raised and will then begin to lower, and thecontrolled machine will run until the collar 48 swings the lever 42 outof engagement with the lever pin 40, at which time the spring 22 willretract the lever 15 to its initial position, upon which the brake willbe set, the clutch mechanism released, and the machine will stoprunning.

The elongated hole or slot 13 is provided so that when the lever 15 isretracting to the initial position, the pin 14 will strike the rod 12with a sharp blow, so as to eifect mounted in a hole in the projection52.

In Figs. 3, 4 and 5 the driving and brake mechanism are shown applied toa merrygo-round. 54 designates the ordinary revthe base 60 of themerry-go-round. A belt 6 1 is mounted on the clutch member 4 and isdriven by anysuitable power means,not shown. The brake wheel 2 issecured to a horizontal shaft 62 rotatably mounted in suitable bearings,not shown. Secured to the shaft 62 is a bevel gear wheel 63 which mesheswith a bevel gear wheel 64 secured to the shaft 7.

When the lever 15 is swung to the right tothe position shown in dottedlines in Fig. 1, it will lift the rod 32, as already described, and willbe engaged and held by the lever 42. The brakestrap 1 will now bereleased from clamping the wheel 2, and the clutch member '5 will beforced upwardly into engagement with the clutch member 4. The latterwill now effect rotation of the shaft 7, thereby revolving the frame 54,through the intermediacy of the gear 55 and gear wheel 56.

The frame 54 will now be revolved until the spring 46 has retracteddownwardly the rod 32 and the collar 48 has depressed the adjacent endof the lever 42 so as to release the lever 15. The spring 22 will nowswing the lever 15 to the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 1, uponwhich the clutch member 5 will be disengaged from the clutch member 4,and the brake strap 1 will be applied to the wheel 2. Rotation of theshaft 7 will thus be stopped, thereby efiecting the stopping of therevolving movement of the frame 54.

The running period of the frame 54 thus corresponds tothe time requiredfor the piston head 26 to move from its uppermost position to suchposition as: it is permitted to move downwardly by the collar 48. As

before described this collar may be adjusted on the rod 32 to differentpositions, thereby permitting the running time of the frame 54 to beregulated to suit the wishes of the operator. All that the operator isrequired to do is to swing the lever 15 to the operating position, afterwhich the frame 54 will be automatically revolved and then. stoppedafter the proper period of running time has elapsed.

I do not limit my invention to the structure shown and described, asmodifications of my invention, within the scope of the appended claims,may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is 1. In a merry-go-round having a driving member, thecombination with said driving member, of an oscillatable member movablemanually in one direction, means for automatically retracting saidoscillatable member, means actuated by said oscillatable member forcontrolling said driving member, means for holding the o-scillatablemember in a pro-determined set position, time controlled means forreleasing the oscillatable member from said holding means, and meansactuated by said oscillatable member for setting the time controlledmeans into the operative position.

2. In a merry-go-round having a brake, the combination with said brake,of an oscillatable member movable in one direction manually, means forautomatically retractingthe oscillatable member, means actuated by theoscillatable member for operating the brake,

ieans for holding the oscillatable member in a predetermined setposition, time controlled means for releasing the oscillatable memberfrom said holding means, and means actuated by the oscillatable memberfor setting the time controlled means into the operative position.

3. In a merry-go-ronnd having driving mechanism and a brake mechanism,the combination with said driving and brake mechanisms, of operatingmeans for simultaneously rendering one of said mechanisms inactive andthe other active, the operating means being manually movable to apredetermined set position, means for automatically retracting theoperating means to an initial position, meansfor holding the operatingmeans in said set position, time controlled means for releasing theoperating means from said holding means, and means actuated by theoperating means in being moved to the set position for setting the timecontrolled means into the operative position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

CHARLES E. MORRTS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

